(ICYMI) Possible Attempted Child Abduction Was Misunderstanding

Despite what it may have looked like to some north Paulding County residents, there was not an attempted child abduction Tuesday afternoon in the Arthur Hills subdivision.

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday morning that a misunderstanding is what brought deputies to the neighborhood to investigate after a mother called 911 to report an elderly couple may have tried to lure her kids to their vehicle with an offer of a free kitten.

• SEE MORE: Police & Fire posts on Dallas-Hiram Patch

However, the mother told detectives Thursday morning she found out she knew the couple and their offer of a new kitten was legit.

“This situation was sensationalized on the social media sites of several north Paulding subdivisions and was made out to look like there was an active child abduction investigation underway,” Paulding County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. Ashley Henson said in an email Thursday morning. “Detectives never had any evidence that led them to believe this was an attempted child abduction; however, the circumstances of the incident were extremely suspicous.”

To clarify what happened, the sheriff office released more details on the incident:

On Tuesday afternoon August 18, 2015 inside the Arthur Hills subdivision in northern Pauding County deputies responded to a report of suspicious activity. Upon arrival, deputies spoke with the complainant who stated that an elderly couple approached her children while they were playing in their front yard. She further explained that the elderly couple were driving an older red sedan and the elderly white female took a kitten to the children and asked them if they wanted one. The elderly white male, who stayed in the vehicle, stated that the kids could pick their own kitten out if they wanted to and that he had more inside the vehicle.

The children did not approach the vehicle and the elderly couple subsequently left the area. Later that afternoon, once the children came in from playing, they told their mother what had occurred. The mother then called 911 and made a report of the incident with deputies. According to the complainant, no one saw this incident occur other than the children.

Deputies and detectives with the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Crimes Against Children (CAC) Unit interviewed the children and did a canvas of the neighborhood to see if anyone might have seen anything. Initially, this area was placed on a heavy zone patrol for suspicous persons and vehicles. Detectives urged parents to keep an eye on their children if they were playing in the neighborhood.

Detectives spoke with the complainant this morning [Thursday] who explained that she spoke with some elderly neighbors yesterday evening. The elderly neighbors stated that they were the ones that asked the children if they wanted a kitten. The elderly couple stated that they thought the children would recognize them and that there was no criminal intent. The complainant confirmed that she knew the elderly couple and that this was a big misunderstanding.

The sheriff’s office encourages residents who see suspicious people or vehicles in their neighborhoods to call 911 and have a deputy respond to the scene to check it out.

Photo: PCSO